Chapter – 53
Sure enough, Gwen’s defense had been effective.
From the conversations drifting by, it sounded like Jeanne was friendly with Gwen and even on good terms with the cooks.
“Is that so? Well, that puts my mind at ease….”
Jeanne nodded after hearing Gwen’s words.
“If Gwen says so, then that must be it.”
“Hmm-hmm. We were mistaken for nothing.”
“It’s still suspicious. But… well. No one sane would do something like that at this hour.”
Once the cooks realized the situation had been mostly settled, they returned to their stations one by one and refocused on cooking.
“What brings you to the cookhouse? Scouts don’t usually come help with cooking.”
The scouting troops, being a sort of elite unit, were busy with high-risk tasks; they weren’t assigned to food support, fortification work, mowing the grounds, or other such chores.
So it was natural for Gwen to find it odd that Carlyle was in the cookhouse.
“Are you hungry?”
“No.”
Carlyle shook his head.
“Not me. It’s just that someone’s causing a fuss about being hungry….”
“Who?”
“Here.”
Carlyle pointed to the chest where the baby drake was curled up.
“Oh? Did you pick up a cat or something?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“How cute~”
Gwen’s face flushed.
“Could I see it? I really like cats. Hehe.”
“Sorry, but I don’t think that will be possible. This one’s a bit savage….”
“Oh.”
Gwen looked disappointed.
“Could you ask the cooks for some food?”
“Like feed?”
“No. Like a steak, for example?”
“Would the cookhouse be able to provide something like that…?”
When Carlyle produced two gold coins, the cook’s answer changed.
It was absurdly expensive for “pet food,” but Carlyle had no change, so he handed them over. After all, he’d grabbed dozens of gold bars and all sorts of treasures from Anthiros’s laboratory, so a little luxury like this seemed allowable.
“How could I refuse? One for Corporal Gwen here, and with the other coin I’ll boil the cooks….”
“I’ll see what I can do!”
Gwen moved up to the head cook and whispered something.
“I heard. You need a steak?”
The head cook was a burly fellow whose arms were bigger than many combat soldiers’.
“Sorry, but we don’t have beef. In a remote mountain post like this, beef doesn’t get supplied often.”
“Is there anything similar?”
“If you have venison, though—plenty of butter and oil—if cooked well, it’ll rival beef.”
“Could you do that then?”
“Anytime. Heh-heh-heh.”
The head cook winked at Carlyle.
“If you want something like this, come to me anytime. I usually have meat stashed away… ah, ahaha.”
“…….”
“Anyway! I’ve got enough ingredients left to fulfill your request, so don’t be shy—come by whenever.”
“All right.”
The cook in charge, Andre, rolled up his sleeves, fetched ingredients from the pantry, and began to cook.
It was likely the meat had been pilfered, but Carlyle didn’t make an issue of it.
Right then, he was the one in need—Andre was not.
Andre’s skills in the kitchen exceeded expectations.
“Here you go, your order’s ready.”
A venison steak, mushroom soup, fresh vegetables with a tangy dressing for a salad, butter-laden baked bread, and mashed potatoes made from grated potatoes.
Warm milk and tea were even served alongside.
At that point it was hardly the sort of food you’d call plain camp fare.
“Impressive.”
“You get what you pay for. One gold coin isn’t small change.”
“Well, true.”
In this world, a single gold coin was worth roughly one thousand US dollars, so it certainly wasn’t cheap.
“By the way, we can’t give alcohol, understood? I do have some wine stashed, but if we reek of alcohol this early in the morning, you and I will both be hauled before a military tribunal.”
“That’s fine. I don’t particularly need alcohol.”
“It’s not completely off the table—if you feel like it later, be discreet and maybe I’ll give you a glass or two.”
“All right.”
“There are too many eyes around. Don’t go wandering off to eat somewhere else and get caught; if your group gets caught, I’ll be in trouble too.”
“Understood.”
“Enjoy your meal.”
With an elegant, old-fashioned bow that contrasted amusingly with his hulking frame, Andre pulled the tent flap closed.
Thanks to that, Carlyle and Gwen could eat their breakfast quietly without worrying about being watched.
“Here you go.”
Carlyle cut the venison steak and fed it into his chest where the baby drake was nesting.
“Nom-nom. This is tasty.”
“Is that enough now?”
“Give me the bread.”
“…….”
“Bread next, then the soup.”
Snap!
A vein popped on the side of Carlyle’s forehead.
‘What a spoiled lordling. I should—if he weren’t ranked at potential level 12…’
“Haahhk!”
The baby drake growled.
Carlyle wanted to snap back, but he restrained himself in front of Gwen.
“Did the kitten get angry?”
“Huh?”
“It looked like it just got mad.”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. It’s a picky one. Gwen Corporal, you should eat while it’s still warm.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Carlyle had barely eaten himself—he was too busy tending the baby drake.
Whether the drake knew it or not…
“Zzz… so sleepy.”
After gulping down its milk, the baby drake yawned and fell fast asleep.
‘What a life. Meanwhile we’re the ones who might die.’
Carlyle peeked down at the baby drake in his chest and snorted, then took a piece of bread between his teeth.
The steak had cooled and he didn’t want it, so he intended to fill his stomach with bread and mashed potatoes.
“You’re so attentive.”
“Me?”
“You’re sacrificing your meal to look after the baby.”
“I only gave in because of those puppy eyes.”
“But it’s not easy to do. You’re a considerate person.”
“By the way, why do you keep calling me ‘oppa’?”
“Because you’re handsome?”
“…….”
What kind of logic was that…?
“Also, I’m going on leave soon!”
Gwen said, her face bright with excitement.
“Leave?”
“Yes! Only three days to go! It’s fourteen nights and fifteen days, so it’s fairly long!”
“That’s something to look forward to.”
Having served in the military in his previous life, Carlyle understood Gwen’s feelings better than anyone. Soldiers’ excitement before leave was universal in any world.
“I’m really excited! I miss my mother and my siblings! It’s been six months since I last saw them, and lately I dream about them every night! Hee!”
“That’s understandable.”
“Won’t you go on leave soon, Private Carlyle?”
“I’m still far from it. I’ve only been enlisted a month; there’s no way I can go on leave.”
“Oh, come on.”
Gwen said as if dismissing the idea.
“You’ll probably get a reward leave, right? Your deeds are amazing; Lady Helen can’t not notice.”
“That would never happen.”
Carlyle could not imagine Helen granting him a reward leave.
Right now, his relationship with Helen was more of an adversarial symbiosis than anything warm; it was hard to call them friendly.
“Hm. Even if she knows, she’d probably just pretend she doesn’t.”
“Lady Helen is strict about separating personal from professional matters. Even if she doesn’t like you personally, she’ll still grant a reward leave. I guarantee it!”
“Hmm. We’ll see.”
Carlyle didn’t hold any expectations.
Whatever happened.
‘Leave… will I even get to go?’
A strange unease crept over him.
Boden Fortress was like a candle before a storm—nowhere to be sure of anything.
The whole garrison was in a life-or-death crisis. They should be worried about surviving, not taking leave.
Of course, Gwen, being an engineer, had no idea what was going on, so she could giddily anticipate her upcoming leave.
‘Better not tell her. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.’
Carlyle didn’t want to shatter Gwen’s hopes with his own knowledge. At least until she learned the truth, he wanted her to enjoy the hope of leave and be a little happier.
Even if that hope later broke into shards of despair.
“Recruit! Recruit!”
Startled, Carlyle opened his eyes to someone calling him.
Usually a light call would get him up instantly, but he was exhausted from the dungeon exploration the night before.
Also, while the veteran soldiers on the exploration team had gotten about three hours of sleep, he had not slept at all because he had been feeding the baby drake. He had only grabbed maybe fifteen minutes of dozing.
“Even though you worked through the night, get up.”
He pried his heavy eyelids open to see a man with a bizarre, matted wig peering down at him.
This was Wilson, nicknamed “the Barber” among the scouts.
‘That wig still makes me uneasy no matter how many times I see it.’
How much grudge must he have harbored to skin the heads of barbarian warriors and use their hair to make a wig…?
“Here.”
Wilson offered his hand to Carlyle.
Even though he could have gotten up by himself, Carlyle took Wilson’s hand. After all, Wilson had not been friendly to him before; it was impolite to refuse a hand when offered.
“One, two, three!”
Wilson hauled Carlyle up with strength.
“You really tired?”
“No. I can manage. Just a bit sleepy.”
“You’re something else, Sigmund. Even though you’re a rookie, you handled that forced march like a veteran.”
“Ha ha….”
“Anyway, assembly in five minutes. Wash up and wake yourself, the magic-stone mining operation is about to start.”
“Yes.”
It looked like the command had ordered the magic-stone mining operation to proceed.
‘I’d rather it be a straight-out battle.’
If they pushed ahead with magic-stone mining and were picked off in detail by the Butcher Tribe or Crowley, their forces would be whittled away. If only they could hold out using the [Iron Bastion] they got from Anthiros’s lab until reinforcements arrived.
In other words, the best strategy for now was to hole up in the fortress and focus solely on defense.
But there was the problem of the later investigation by headquarters.
If it was discovered they hadn’t mined the required number of magic-stones, or had failed to secure at least the minimum quota, Helen and the entire unit would definitely be punished.
‘This situation is a real mess.’
Carlyle splashed his face with cold water and bit his lower lip.
Damn that magic-stone.
“If they tell us to do it, we do it. Sigh!”
He let out a long breath and headed for the assembly point.
